Air Canada Strike: Compensation eligibility rules

If you’ve been affected by an Air Canada strike, then you’ve come to the right place. You may be entitled to up to £520 in compensation if you experienced delays or cancellations due to an airline strike. We can help you make a claim under EU law.

As air passengers, we are protected by a piece of EU law called EC 261. It holds airlines financially accountable for flight disruptions that they are responsible for. That includes flight disruptions due to airline staff strikes. So if your flight was cancelled due to a strike, you may be eligible for compensation under the EC 261 regulations. The law regarding this particular situation was clarified only as recently as 2018. The European Court of Justice in Luxembourg, ruled that disruption caused by airline employee strikes qualifies for compensation as the airline is considered responsible for the behaviour of their own staff.

You can find out more about EC 261 and your air passenger rights here.

• When am I eligible?

• When am I not eligible?

• Check your eligibility with AirHelp

• What about past Air Canada strikes?

When am I Eligible for Flight Strike Compensation from Air Canada?

You are eligible for strike compensation if:

• You had a flight disrupted by an Air Canada staff strike.

• Your flight was either delayed by 3 hours or more, or was cancelled less than 14 days before it was due to depart.

• You had a confirmed flight reservation.

• The disruption occurred within the last 3 years.

• If you took a replacement flight, your new arrival time was significantly different to your original flight.

Airline staff strikes are strikes involving the employees of Air Canada. That includes pilots, cabin crew, airline engineers, and other employees working directly for Air Canada. If you book a flight which is disrupted because of a staff strike, Air Canada may owe you compensation to make up for the trouble caused.

We believe that air passenger rights should always come first – if an airline strike with Air Canada causes or caused your flight to be delayed, cancelled, or even result in a denied boarding, you can make a claim for compensation.

When am I Not Eligible for Strike Compensation from Air Canada?

You are not eligible for strike compensation if the strike is one that Air Canada has no control over. For example:

• Strikes by airport security staff

• Strikes by baggage handlers

• Strikes by air traffic management staff

• Strikes caused by political unrest

While Air Canada staff strikes are within the control of Air Canada, all other strikes are considered to be “extraordinary circumstances”. Extraordinary circumstances are any events or situations that are completely beyond the airline’s control and cannot be avoided, even if reasonable measures have been taken to protect against them. In such cases, Air Canada is not at fault.

Check Your Eligibility for Airline Strike Compensation from Air Canada with AirHelp!

Not sure whether your flight qualifies for flight strike compensation? There are a lot of laws and exclusions, so for a quick and easy answer, all you have to do is to fill out our eligibility checker with your details. We’ll tell you if your flight qualifies and how much you’re entitled to. You can also use us to handle the claim for you.

What About Past Air Canada Strikes?

If you were affected by an Air Canada strike in the last 3 years you might be eligible for compensation.

Use our compensation check to see if you are eligible.

The amount of compensation that you are entitled to, depends on your individual circumstances, but you may be owed as much as £520 per person. Click on the type of disruption you had to find out more.

Air Canada Strike Flight Cancellation Compensation

Sometimes, Air Canada staff strikes can lead to the cancellation of your flight altogether. If you’ve had a flight cancelled due to a strike, you could be owed compensation! You qualify for compensation if the airline notified you less than 14 days before your flight was due to depart, and they weren’t able to offer you an alternative flight which arrived at a similar time.

You can learn more about flight cancellations and your rights here.

Air Canada Strike Flight Delay Compensation

Air Canada strikes can sometimes cause lengthy delays and affect your arrival at your final destination. You are eligible for compensation if your flight is delayed by 3 hours or more.

How much could you be owed when your flight with Air Canada is delayed?

You can learn more about flight delay compensation here.

Denied Boarding Compensation

During an airline strike, there may be instances where you are denied boarding due to an aircraft being overbooked. If you are denied boarding against your will, you may be entitled to compensation. You can learn more about denied boarding compensation here.

• The Right to Care

• Rebooking and Refunds

You Have the Right to Care

When you experience flight disruption due to an airline strike, you have the ‘right to care‘. Depending on the length of the delay, Air Canada must provide you with several essentials, including:

• Meals and refreshments.

• Access to communications, including two telephone calls, fax messages, or emails.

• Overnight accommodation, including transportation to and from the airport to your hotel, if necessary.

Rebooking and Refunds

If your flight has been cancelled or delayed for more than five hours, you have the right to withdraw from your flight and receive a complete refund.

If your flight was cancelled, you also have the choice of taking an alternative flight, organised by Air Canada, to get you to your destination. You can learn more about rebooking and refunds here.

AirHelp…

• Is the world's most successful flight compensation company.

• Has lawyers in 30+ countries.

• Uses state-of-the-art technology to pursue each claim.

• Takes the stress out of the claim process.

• Operates on a no win, no fee basis.

• Makes air travel better.

Flight disruption due to airline strikes does happen, and it is your right to receive compensation if you are affected. AirHelp makes the process of claiming easy and stress-free. We handle the heavy lifting for you!

AirHelp is one of the most successful flight compensation companies in the world, with lawyers in over 30 countries, and support in 16 languages. We use innovative technology to assess and pursue each case, which allows us to start working on your claim quickly and efficiently.

Plus, we operate on a no win, no fee basis, eliminating the risk for you completely. So if you need help to get your flight compensation due to an Air Canada strike, fill out our form today.

We’re always here to help.

Air Canada is the flag carrier and largest airline of Canada by fleet size and passengers carried. The airline, founded in 1937, provides scheduled and charter air transport for passengers and cargo to 207 destinations worldwide.

Air Canada Headquarters

It is a founding member of the Star Alliance. Air Canada’s corporate headquarters are in Montreal, Quebec, while its largest hub is at Toronto Pearson International Airport. The airline’s regional service is Air Canada Express.

Airline IATA Code: AC

Website: https://www.aircanada.com/ca/en/

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/aircanada